The field of the present invention relates to commerce by digital transfer. In particular, apparatus and methods are described herein for inventory, sale, and delivery of digitally transferable goods.
Commerce conducted electronically, over the world-wide computer network known as the Internet, is a relatively recent phenomenon that has nevertheless grown into an important segment of the economy. A shopper or buyer with network access may find information for a product, and submit an order request over the network. The vendor then ships the item, and the buyer pays for the merchandise by standard means (credit card, check, invoice, debit, etc.). The ability to shop for and buy products from any location having network access, including one""s home or place of business, has and will continue to revolutionize commerce in the coming years.
However, at present, many systems for conducting such commerce are merely marketing and order-taking systems, with product information available for download by a shopper or buyer, means for a buyer to digitally transmit an order request, possibly including a credit card number or other payment authorization. Most goods must be delivered by more traditional means, and inventory is independent of the order-taking system. In addition, buyers and shoppers are usually restricted to view product information and purchase goods from one vendor (or provider) of goods at a time. For example, an Internet site at http://www1.viaweb.com/stores/ provides access to a variety of providers of products. By entering the area of a provider, the shopper has access to product information from that provider only, and may only order products from that provider. The orders are transmitted from the network site to the provider, who actually fills the order and receives payment. A similar procedure is used at an Internet site at http://www.amazon.com. Books and recorded music are marketed and sold at this site, with the order being transmitted over the Internet, and goods are shipped and payment received. At an Internet site at http://www.ebay.com, items are offered for auction by the public, and information about the item is available for viewing or download. Buyers transmit bids over the Internet, and the system at the site administers the bidding and determines the winning bid. The winning bidder and seller are then put into direct contact to arrange for shipping and payment.
But even items potentially deliverable digitally (stocks, bonds, tickets, reservation) are still delivered physically, perhaps with a receipt or order confirmation delivered electronically. A network site at http://www.discoverbrokerage.com allows submission of xe2x80x9cbuyxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9csellxe2x80x9d requests for stocks and mutual funds. The network site merely processes the requests, but does not execute the trades. Several airlines offer electronic tickets over the Internet (i.e., e-tickets). Once again, only the order and payment are handled by digital transfer over the network. A receipt may be provided electronically, but the goods (in this case, a boarding pass) must still be obtained in person at the airport.
In none of these network sites is there on-site storage of digitally transferable inventory of goods for immediate delivery of purchased goods over the network. In many of these systems the providers must perform their own marketing, collect their own funds, store their own inventory, and manage access to their network-based information.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide apparatus and methods for commerce by digital transfer providing shopper access to products from a plurality of providers simultaneously. It is desirable to provide apparatus and methods for commerce by digital transfer allowing purchase of goods from a plurality of providers in a single order. It is desirable to provide apparatus and methods for commerce by digital transfer which allow providers to immediately upload and store, and/or modify previously stored, digitally transferable goods and product information pertaining thereto, and to receive detailed marketing and sales information. It is desirable to provide apparatus and methods for commerce by digital transfer in which marketing, collections, inventory storage, and access management for a plurality of providers may be handled by a single system. It is desirable to provide apparatus and methods for commerce by digital transfer which allow a buyer to immediately download purchased goods.
Certain aspects of the present invention may overcome one or more aforementioned drawbacks of the previous art and/or advance the state-of-the-art of apparatus and methods for commerce by digital transfer, and in addition may meet one or more of the following objects:
To provide apparatus and methods for inventory, sale, and delivery of digitally transferable goods;
To provide apparatus and methods for inventory, sale, and delivery of digitally transferable goods wherein goods from a plurality of providers are available from a storage and distribution means;
To provide apparatus and methods for inventory, sale, and delivery of digitally transferable goods wherein a provider may establish a provider account and may upload and/or modify goods and product information to the storage and distribution means;
To provide apparatus and methods for inventory, sale, and delivery of digitally transferable goods wherein provider access to the storage and distribution means is provided by a network connection;
To provide apparatus and methods for inventory, sale, and delivery of digitally transferable goods wherein a provider account is verified and access thereto is restricted by provider account identification data and/or a provider password, and the provider account identification data and/or provider password may be transmitted to a provider electronic mail address;
To provide apparatus and methods for inventory, sale, and delivery of digitally transferable goods wherein provider activity is logged;
To provide apparatus and methods for inventory, sale, and delivery of digitally transferable goods wherein a provider may access logged marketing and/or sales information;
To provide apparatus and methods for inventory, sale, and delivery of digitally transferable goods wherein a network connection to the storage and distribution means provides shopper access to product information;
To provide apparatus and methods for inventory, sale, and delivery of digitally transferable goods wherein the product information is stored in the storage and distribution means in a searchable format, and a shopper may simultaneously search the product information of a plurality of providers;
To provide apparatus and methods for inventory, sale, and delivery of digitally transferable goods wherein shopper identification and/or search information is logged as marketing information;
To provide apparatus and methods for inventory, sale, and delivery of digitally transferable goods wherein a network connection to the storage and distribution means allows a buyer to upload order information;
To provide apparatus and methods for inventory, sale, and delivery of digitally transferable goods wherein the buyer may purchase goods from a plurality of providers in a single order;
To provide apparatus and methods for inventory, sale, and delivery of digitally transferable goods wherein order identification information and/or an order password are sent to a buyer electronic mail address, and are required for buyer confirmation of the order;
To provide apparatus and methods for inventory, sale, and delivery of digitally transferable goods wherein buyer identification and/or financial information are verified prior to delivery of the purchased goods;
To provide apparatus and methods for inventory, sale, and delivery of digitally transferable goods wherein a network connection to the storage and distribution means allows a buyer to download the purchased goods;
To provide apparatus and methods for inventory, sale, and delivery of digitally transferable goods wherein the purchased goods are placed in an order location, and the order identification information and/or the order password are required for the buyer to download the purchased goods;
To provide apparatus and methods for inventory, sale, and delivery of digitally transferable goods wherein buyer identification and/or purchase information is logged as sales information;
To provide apparatus and methods for inventory, sale, and delivery of digitally transferable goods wherein a buyer may return previously purchased goods;
To provide apparatus and methods for inventory, sale, and delivery of digitally transferable goods wherein the provider upload of goods and/or product information, shopper search and download of product information, buyer upload of order information, and/or buyer download of goods may be performed in a single temporally continuous session, or in a plurality of temporally discontinuous sessions; and
To provide apparatus and methods for inventory, sale, and delivery of digitally transferable goods wherein one or more of the foregoing procedures may be automated.
One or more of the foregoing objects may be achieved in the present invention by an apparatus comprising: a) a storage and distribution means; b) an inventory upload means; c) a product information download means; d) an order upload means; and e) a delivery download means. One or more of the foregoing objects may be achieved in the present invention by a method comprising the steps of: (a) digitally transferring the goods and product information pertaining thereto from a provider of the goods to a storage and distribution means; (b) storing the goods, product information pertaining thereto, order information, and possibly sales information and marketing information on the storage and distribution means; (c) digitally transferring the product information to a shopper; (d) digitally transferring order information from a buyer of the goods to the storage and distribution means; and (e) digitally transferring the goods to the buyer. The storage and distribution means may be used to store digitally transferable goods, product information pertaining thereto, marketing information, and sales information. The storage and distribution means may be provided with one or more network connections, thereby allowing access by providers, shoppers, and buyers. A provider may establish a provider account, thereby allowing the provider access to the storage and distribution means to: a) upload and/or modify goods and/or product information; and/or b) access to marketing and/or sales information pertaining to goods of the provider. Goods and product information from a plurality of providers may be stored, preferably in a searchable form. The product information from a plurality of providers may be searched simultaneously by a shopper, and goods from a plurality of providers may be ordered by and delivered to a buyer in a single order.
Identification and validation are required for both providers and buyers. Upon establishing a provider account, a provider must supply identification and/or financial information, preferably including an electronic mail address. After verification of the information provided, provider account identification data and/or a provider password may be sent to the provider electronic mail address, and may be required for subsequent access to the provider account. In this way the electronic mail address of the provider is also verified. Similarly, upon placing an order a buyer must supply identification and/or financial information, preferably including an electronic mail address. Order identification data and/or an order password may be sent to the buyer electronic mail address for confirmation. Order confirmation and/or verification of the financial information is provided, and the purchased goods are placed in an order storage area. The order identification information and/or order password may be required for subsequent buyer access to the order storage area and download of the purchased goods by the buyer. In this way the electronic mail address of the buyer may be verified. The order identification data and/or order password may be required for later return of goods by the buyer.
Identification data may be logged for all providers, shoppers, and buyers that access the storage and distribution means. These identification data may include name, physical mail address, electronic mail address, and/or date/time/network address. Search information for shoppers may be logged as marketing information, and order information for buyers may be logged as sales information. Provider, shopper, and/or buyer identification data may be used by an administrator of the apparatus to track usage and to detect and/or prevent fraudulent access to the goods, product information, marketing information, and/or sales information. The marketing and/or sales information may be stored for later access by the provider of the goods and/or product information searched, requested, downloaded, and/or ordered, thereby allowing the provider to track interest in and demand for goods and product information. The marketing and sales information may be stored for later access by the buyer of the goods and/or product information searched, requested, downloaded, and/or ordered, thereby allowing the buyer to track searches and purchases. The sales and/or marketing information may be stored for later access by the system administrator.
Additional objects and advantages of the present invention may become apparent upon referring to the preferred and alternative embodiments of the present invention as illustrated in the drawings and described in the following written description and/or claims.